1.
Flirtation Walk (West Point)
–
Flirtation Walk is a historic rocky foot trail at the United States Military Academy. The trail follows the shoreline of the Hudson River along the western bank, the southern trailhead starts at the edge of the Lincoln Hall parking lot and winds north along the river around Gees Point and the West Point Light. The trail turns west-northwest, passing Battery Cove, where the Great Chain was anchored during the Revolutionary War, the trail ends near the helipad of West Points North Dock. There also is a trail that descends steeply to the river level from Trophy Point. The trail varies in consistency from level and even to steep, by academy tradition, only cadets and their guests may use the trail. Visitors escorted by cadets should wear sturdy shoes, the 1934 film Flirtation Walk was named after the trail. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, cadets refer to it as Flirtie Walk, or just Flirtie. The cadet knowledge manual, known as Bugle Notes, refers to Flirtation Walk as a walk where only cadets. The trail was first used during the Revolutionary War to access the Great Chain that deterred British ships navigating the turn in the river, as it originally had a military application, this path was off limits to cadets until the 1840s. After the military purpose at West Point became obsolete, the trail was opened and encouraged to be used by cadets. As the academy grew in size in the century, more visitors began to frequent the cadets. Given the limited opportunities of the day and the lack of places for the young men of the academy to take their lady guests. The administration of the academy allowed cadets the opportunity to have some privacy with their guests. This policy is still held and signs are posted to keep visitors to the academy away from the trail. The signs read Visitors must be accompanied by a cadet, most are dedicated to cadets who died during their time at the academy. The largest and most prominent monument along the trail is Sheridan Memorial near Gees Point that is dedicated to Richard B. Sheridan Jr, who died on the gridiron of the Yale Bowl in Oct 1931. Because the Mexican War was the first war where West Point graduates played a commanding role, there is a large engraving that states MEXICO13,14 SEP1847 along Howard Road leading down to North Dock. There is also a large engraving commemorating the Battle of Saratoga on the cliffside at Kosciuszkos Garden about a mile south of Flirtie Walk
2.
Dick Powell
–
Richard Ewing Dick Powell was an American singer, actor, film producer, film director and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a comedy performer, he showed versatility. He was the first actor to portray the private detective Philip Marlowe on screen, Powell was born in Mountain View, the seat of Stone County in northern Arkansas. The family moved to Little Rock in 1914, where Powell sang in choirs and with local orchestras. Powell attended the former Little Rock College, before he started his entertainment career as a singer with the Royal Peacock Band which toured throughout the Midwest. During this time, he married Mildred Maund, a model, later, he joined the Charlie Davis Orchestra, based in Indianapolis. He recorded a number of records with Davis and on his own, Powell moved to Pittsburgh, where he found great local success as the Master of Ceremonies at the Enright Theater and the Stanley Theater. In April 1930, Warner Bros. bought Brunswick Records, which at that time owned Vocalion, Warner Bros. was sufficiently impressed by Powells singing and stage presence to offer him a film contract in 1932. He made his debut as a singing bandleader in Blessed Event. Powell desperately wanted to expand his range, but Warner Bros. would not allow him to do so, as a result, he bought his release from Warner Bros. in 1940. They did cast him in A Midsummer Nights Dream, but as Lysander, another youthful romantic character and this was to be Powells only Shakespearean role and one he did not want to play, feeling that he was completely wrong for the part. By 1944, Powell felt he was too old to play romantic leading men anymore and he lost out to Fred MacMurray, another Hollywood nice guy. MacMurrays success, however, fueled Powells resolve to pursue projects with greater range, Powell starred in the musical program Campana Serenade, which was broadcast on NBC radio and CBS radio. In 1944, Powells career changed dramatically when he was cast in the first of a series of films noir, as private detective Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet, the film was a big hit, and Powell had successfully reinvented himself as a dramatic actor. He was the first actor to play Marlowe – by name – in motion pictures, later, Powell was the first actor to play Marlowe on radio, in 1944 and 1945, and on television, in a 1954 episode of Climax. Powell also played the slightly less hard-boiled detective Richard Rogue in the radio series Rogues Gallery, in 1945, Dmytryk and Powell reteamed to make the film Cornered, a gripping, post-WWII thriller that helped define the film noir style. He became a tough guy lead appearing in movies such as Johnny OClock. But in 1948, he stepped out of the type when he starred in Pitfall
3.
Pat O'Brien (actor)
–
William Joseph Patrick Pat OBrien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits. Of Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and was referred to as Hollywoods Irishman in Residence in the press, one of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American, Angels with Dirty Faces and he was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood legend James Cagney. OBrien also appeared on stage and television, Pat OBrien was born in 1899 to an Irish-American Roman Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All four of his grandparents had come from Ireland, the OBriens were originally from County Cork. His grandfather, Patrick OBrien, for whom he was named, was an architect who was killed trying to break up a saloon fight in New York City. His mothers parents, the McGoverns, immigrated from County Galway in the west of Ireland in the mid- to late-19th century, as a child, OBrien served as an altar boy at Gesu Church, while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets in Milwaukee. He attended Marquette Academy with fellow actor Spencer Tracy, who became a lifelong friend, during World War I, OBrien and Tracy joined the United States Navy. They both attended boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, but the war ended before their training had finished, Jack Benny was also at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center at the same time as OBrien and Tracy. According to his autobiography, Benny performed a number on the violin at a one evening. OBrien walked on stage and whispered in his ear, For heavens sake, Ben, put down the damn fiddle, Benny stopped playing his violin and made a series of comments that got laughs from the audience. In this way, OBrien indirectly helped to start Bennys career in comedy, after the war, OBrien finished his secondary schooling at Marquette Academy and later attended Marquette University. While still at college, he decided to work as an actor. He moved to New York, where he lived for a while with Tracy, after a decade in plays on Broadway and in the New York City area, OBrien began appearing in movies in 1930. Often playing fast-talking smart alecs or romantic leads at first, he progressed to playing a string of authority figures, especially cops. His first starring role was as ace reporter Hildy Johnson in the original 1931 version of The Front Page with Adolphe Menjou, Warner Brothers hired OBrien as a contract player in 1933. He remained with the studio until 1940, when he left after a dispute over the terms of his contract renewal and he appeared with James Cagney, also under contract to Warner Brothers, in nine feature films, including Angels with Dirty Faces and Cagneys last film, Ragtime. The two originally met in 1926 and remained friends for almost six decades, after OBriens death, Cagney referred to him as his dearest friend
4.
Hawaii
–
Hawaii is the 50th and most recent state to have joined the United States of America, having received statehood on August 21,1959. Hawaii is the only U. S. state located in Oceania and it is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is the only U. S. state not located in the Americas, the state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles. At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are—in order from northwest to southeast, Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and the Island of Hawaiʻi. The last is the largest island in the group, it is called the Big Island or Hawaiʻi Island to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania, Hawaii has over a million permanent residents, along with many visitors and U. S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii is the 8th-smallest and the 11th-least populous, but the 13th-most densely populated of the fifty U. S. states. It is the state with an Asian plurality. The states coastline is about 750 miles long, the fourth longest in the U. S. after the coastlines of Alaska, Florida, the state of Hawaii derives its name from the name of its largest island, Hawaiʻi. A common Hawaiian explanation of the name of Hawaiʻi is that was named for Hawaiʻiloa and he is said to have discovered the islands when they were first settled. The Hawaiian language word Hawaiʻi is very similar to Proto-Polynesian *Sawaiki, cognates of Hawaiʻi are found in other Polynesian languages, including Māori, Rarotongan and Samoan. According to linguists Pukui and Elbert, lsewhere in Polynesia, Hawaiʻi or a cognate is the name of the underworld or of the home, but in Hawaii. A somewhat divisive political issue arose in 1978 when the Constitution of the State of Hawaii added Hawaiian as an official state language. The title of the constitution is The Constitution of the State of Hawaii. Article XV, Section 1 of the Constitution uses The State of Hawaii, diacritics were not used because the document, drafted in 1949, predates the use of the okina and the kahakō in modern Hawaiian orthography. The exact spelling of the name in the Hawaiian language is Hawaiʻi. In the Hawaii Admission Act that granted Hawaiian statehood, the government recognized Hawaii as the official state name. Official government publications, department and office titles, and the Seal of Hawaii use the spelling with no symbols for glottal stops or vowel length
5.
Philippines
–
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos
6.
United States Military Academy
–
It sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River,50 miles north of New York City. It is one of the four U. S. military service academies, the entire central campus is a national landmark and home to scores of historic sites, buildings, and monuments. The majority of the campuss Norman-style buildings are constructed from gray, the campus is a popular tourist destination complete with a large visitor center and the oldest museum in the United States Army. Candidates for admission must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a member of Congress or Delegate/Resident Commissioner in the case of Washington, puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. Other nomination sources include the President and Vice President of the United States, students are officers-in-training and are referred to as cadets or collectively as the United States Corps of Cadets. Tuition for cadets is fully funded by the Army in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation, approximately 1,300 cadets enter the Academy each July, with about 1,000 cadets graduating. Cadets are required to adhere to the Cadet Honor Code, which states that a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, the academy bases a cadets leadership experience as a development of all three pillars of performance, academics, physical, and military. Most graduates are commissioned as lieutenants in the Army. Foreign cadets are commissioned into the armies of their home countries, since 1959, cadets have also been eligible to cross-commission, or request a commission in one of the other armed services, provided that they meet that services eligibility standards. Every year, a small number of cadets do this. The academys traditions have influenced other institutions because of its age and it was the first American college to have an accredited civil-engineering program and the first to have class rings, and its technical curriculum was a model for later engineering schools. West Points student body has a rank structure and lexicon. All cadets reside on campus and dine together en masse on weekdays for breakfast, the academy fields fifteen mens and nine womens National Collegiate Athletic Association sports teams. Cadets compete in one sport every fall, winter, and spring season at the intramural, club and its football team was a national power in the early and mid-20th century, winning three national championships. The Continental Army first occupied West Point, New York, on 27 January 1778, between 1778 and 1780, the Polish engineer and military hero Tadeusz Kościuszko oversaw the construction of the garrison defenses. While the fortifications at West Point were known as Fort Arnold during the war, as commander, Benedict Arnold committed his act of treason, after Arnold betrayed the patriot cause, the Army changed the name of the fortifications at West Point, New York, to Fort Clinton. With the peace after the American Revolutionary War, various ordnance, Cadets underwent training in artillery and engineering studies at the garrison since 1794. In 1801, shortly after his inauguration as president, Thomas Jefferson directed that plans be set in motion to establish at West Point the United States Military Academy and he selected Jonathan Williams to serve as its first superintendent
7.
United States Army
–
The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
8.
Territory of Hawaii
–
The Hawaii Admission Act specified that the State of Hawaii would not include Palmyra Atoll, The Midway Islands, Johnston Atoll, Sand Island, or Kingman Reef. The U. S. Congress passed the Newlands Resolution which annexed the Republic of Hawaii to the United States, Hawaiis territorial history includes a period from 1941 to 1944—during World War II—when the islands were placed under martial law. Civilian government was dissolved and a governor was appointed. Thurston actively lobbied Congress while the former monarchy lobbied Democrats to protest, First annexation proceedings began when Democrat Grover Cleveland took office. Cleveland was an anti-imperialist and was strongly against annexation and he withdrew the annexation treaty from consideration, mounted an inquiry, and recommended the restoration of Liliʻuokalani as queen. The provisional government convened a convention to establish the Republic of Hawaii. Thurston was urged to become the nations first president but he was worried his brazen personality would damage the cause of annexation, Dole, former Supreme Court Justice and friend of Queen Liliʻuokalani, was elected as the first and only president of the new regime. Hawaiis strategic location to support the Spanish–American War in the Philippines made it important to American interests. On July 4,1898, the United States Congress passed the Newlands Resolution and it was signed into law by President McKinley on July 7,1898, and came into effect on August 12,1898. Former President Sanford B. Dole was appointed Hawaiis first territorial governor, the Newlands Resolution established a five-member commission to study which laws were needed in the newly organized Territory of Hawaii. The commission included, Territorial Governor Sanford B, Dole, Senators Shelby M. Cullom and John T. Morgan, Representative Robert R. Hitt and former Hawaii Chief Justice and later succeeding Territorial Governor Walter F. Frear. The commissions final report was submitted to Congress for a debate which lasted over a year, the Organic Act established the Office of the Territorial Governor, an office appointed by the sitting American president and was usually from his own political party. The territorial governor served at the pleasure of the President of the United States and nominated by him and confirmed by the Senate, Representative in the U. S. House of Representatives Representation in the U. S. His transports encouraged him to purchase passenger steamships that would carry tourists hoping to vacation in Hawaii from the mainland United States, matsons fleet included the SS Wilhelmina, rivaling the best passenger ships serving traditional Atlantic routes. With the boom in interest of Hawaiian vacations by Americas wealthiest families in the late 1920s, Matson added the SS Mariposa, SS Monterey, Matson Navigation Company operated two resort hotels in Honolulu near royal grounds. The first hotel on Waikīkī was the Moana Hotel which opened in 1901, as the first hotel in Waikīkī, the Moana Hotel was nicknamed the First Lady of Waikīkī. The hotel gained international attention in 1920 when Edward, Prince of Wales and future King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, in 1927, the luxurious Royal Hawaiian Hotel, informally called the Pink Palace of the Pacific, opened for business. It was the preferred Hawaii residence of President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he visited Hawaii during World War II, with annexation, the United States saw Hawaii as its most strategic military asset
9.
Luau
–
A luau is a traditional Hawaiian party or feast that is usually accompanied by entertainment. It may feature such as poi, kalua pig, poke, lomi salmon, opihi, haupia and beer. Among people from Hawaiʻi, the concepts of luau and party are often blended, resulting in graduation luau, wedding luau, however, in 1819, King Kamehameha II removed all the religious laws that were practiced. King Kamehameha II performed an act by eating with the women. This is when the parties were first created. Earlier, such a feast was called a pāʻina or ʻahaʻaina, the modern name comes from that of a food often served at a luau, squid or chicken lūʻau, which consist of meat, lūʻau leaves, and coconut milk. The main dish of the luau is Kālua pig, another dish that is served is poi, made from the roots of taro. This feast was served on the floor, on the mats there were usually large centerpieces. In most cases the centerpieces were made of tī leaves, utensils were never present during a luau, everything was eaten by hand. For example, poi received its name from the number of fingers needed to eat it, three-finger, two-finger, or the thickest, one-finger poi. For example, some extravagant affairs go so far as to food from the islands, while others settle for artificial lei, maitais. To have a party, it is essential to have an open area, such as a backyard. Also a lei is an important part of a luau. A lei is a necklace of flowers, ferns, or kukui nuts that men and women wear, at luau-themed parties, the guests can make their own lei or they can be bought. At these types of entertainment is a must. The instruments used are typically the ukulele and the drums, brennan, Jennifer, Tradewinds and Coconuts, A Reminiscence and Recipes from the Pacific Islands, Periplus, ISBN 962-593-819-2. Philpotts, Kaui, Great Chefs of Hawaiʻi, Honolulu, Hawaii, Mutual Publishing, pukui, Mary Kawena, Samuel H. Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary, Honolulu, University of Hawaiʻi Press, ISBN 0-8248-0703-0 Media related to Luaus at Wikimedia Commons
